Australia v Sri Lanka 1st Test at the Gabba: BBL blackout blues as not all fans get replacement tickets

More than 10,000 fans caught in the Gabba BBL blackout won’t be able to get the complimentary Test tickets offered as a replacement.

The Heat-Thunder match was abandoned after a power outage.

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More than 10,000 fans caught in the Gabba Big Bash blackout won’t be able to get the complimentary Test tickets offered as a replacement.

Though more than 26,000 spectators attended last Thursday’s game between the Brisbane Heat and the Sydney Thunder, just over 14,000 replacement tickets have been issued by Cricket Australia.

The tickets were offered as a goodwill gesture for fans after the match was abandoned following a power blackout early in the second innings.

The Heat-Thunder match was abandoned after a power outage.

Initially 2500 tickets a day were released for the first four days of Thursday’s Test between Australia and Sri Lanka with Cricket Australia adding another 4000.

Most of them were snapped up within a day of being released.

A Queensland Cricket spokesman confirmed the amount of replacement tickets was capped but Cricket Australia is still working with people who had Big Bash tickets and had so far been unable to gain Test replacements.

“It was widely communicated at the time that there was a limited number of tickets available,’’ the spokesperson said.

“There was enough overs bowled in the Big Bash game to constitute the no-refund policy so this was basically a gesture of goodwill.’’

The spokesman said Energex crews have worked tirelessly for the few days after the match to fix the faulty grid which caused the blackout.

It is understood the project took longer than expected and there were still Energex trucks around the site on Monday afternoon, four days after the blackout.